ALWAYS FREE

ISSUE NO. 4

WJHS PRESS
WELLS JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL/ FALL/2013
A Golden Dream Come True It all pays off desireeffortsatisfactionThe practice field Where our hearts were left on The game field Where it all paid off Three months of work all for forty minutes sweatbloodtears. A loss to Gorham in the regular season Meant nothing It was erased from our minds As we prepared And expected to be victorious And we were All of the work All of the time All of the effort Paid off. We had proven to this league That the Wells Warriors Are the hardest hitting team The best sportsmen And the best executers, And that we Deserved the gold ball. We gained respect of the other teamWe gained trust in our coachesAnd we gained the ownership of the most important thing of all The gold ball desireeffortsatisfactionIt all pays off. -Christian Saulnier

Photos by Christian Saulnier

The Staff & Table of Contents

Staff: Christian Saulnier Olivia Durfee Megan Schneider Noah Boucher Paige Raymond Rosemary Campenella Daisy Aromando Michael Wrigley Drew Peters Hope Wolterbeek Nolan Potter Katie Baston Raven Goodale Eric Sousa Taylor McDermott Advisors: Ms. Esch Ms. Zotos
TABLE OF CONTENTS -A Golden Dream Come True -Staff and Photos -Thanksgiving Dinner -Bah Hum Bug: WJHS Play Review -FIFA at Wells -What Football Means to me Essay -7th grade Soccer at Wells -Warrior football Interviews -A Friend, Autumn, and There Was a Time Poems -Halloween Survey In the next issue - Quilting for Veterans and other community service events happening around WJHS!

Photos by: Kylie Belanger

Thanksgiving Diner
By: Noah Boucher
It was about ten minutes until we would open the doors for the Thanksgiving dinner! Everyone was getting prepared. Waiters were going over the plan one final time. As a greeter, I was standing near the hostess stand eagerly awaiting the first arrivals. As the couple walked through the door, they smiled. They were full of joy as they saw us and smelled the food being taken out of the oven and put on the tray. "Hello, thank you for coming today. Will it just be the two of you?" Mrs. Esch and Senora Bartlett greeted them with a big welcome. The pair were brought into the cafeteria by Leah, and immediately taken care of by their waiters. I was up. The lobby was backed up with people. There were five who I would be seating. In a way I was more than a little nervous.They calmly walked to us, smiling with joy at the delightful smell of the food. I then greeted them by saying: "Good morning, my name is Noah and I will take you to your table." I walked them to the table, pulled out their chairs to seat them respectfully, and told them to enjoy their meal. That was it! The next people came, and it was easier than anyone had expected. The last people finished eating and left at around 1:00. We then got to eat some turkey and pie as a whole class with our teachers, too! We socialized, ate pie, drank soda, and reflected on the overall experience that we had just had! This Thanksgiving has given me one of, if not the best experiences. I hope this was the same for everyone.

Photos by: Mr. Chessie

Bah Hum Bug

by: Drew Peters and Michael Wrigley
My friend Drew and I went to go see the play, Bah Hum Bug on the night of Friday, November 22nd. The gym was packed when we arrived. There were only a few seats left. The play began with great singing fro all of the cast, especially the main character, Scrooge, played by Parker McDermott. Everybody on stage looked like thy knew what they were doing, and had been practicing a long time. The play was about this older man who hates Christmas, and gets visited by three ghosts. During these visits, he gets taught three different lessons. The three ghosts are the ghosts of Christmas past, present, and future. While with these ghosts, he visits himself during each time period. All of these visits scared Scrooge, especially when he was visited by Josie Marley (played beautifully by Brianna Hennessy.) We were also scared when she walked in with chains hanging off of her! Great job Brianna! She also showed up at the end of the play to make sure that Scrooge had learned his lesson, which he did, and started to love Christmas! Congratulations to all of the performers; this was an outstanding performance that certainly helped to jumpstart our holiday spirit P.S. Stay tuned for information on the next play: were told its Peter Pan:)

Photos by: Robin Reidy

FIFA at Wells
By: Megan Schneider
Another season has come and gone. The Wells Junior High 8th grade girls soccer wrapped up their last year in the junior high with winning six games, tying one and only losing three. They started out the year with losing their first game 5-2. One of the biggest problems in the first game was that they were already missing one of there most valuable players, Olivia Durfee. On the first practice of the season, Olivia hurt her knee. She never came back to playing. It was hard to begin with, but they got back into it and they ended the season with a winning game against York, 6-0. Leah Tufts scored 2 of the goals. "I wanted a hat trick, but Coach Tatiana put m e a s a s w e e p e r, " L e a h commented. She was not very happy about that. Last year Leah was a defender. This year she was a full offender, except for the last game of course. Not only is Leah tough, but she is fast and can handle the ball very well. She also has what you would call a quick trigger, meaning that when she has the chance to shoot, she does so at the right time and quickly so that she cant be stopped. I asked Leah some questions about her year. Reporter Megan: How did you feel about going from defense to offense? Leah: "This year I went from defense to more of a mid-field position. It was kind of hard because I had to almost start over and change everything I knew about where I was supposed to be on the field in certain situations. It was definitely a dramatic change because I went from maybe scoring one goal in an entire season, to scoring at least one goal in almost every game. Although it was hard at first, by the end of the season it felt like I had played the position my entire life." Reporter Megan: What do want to work on for next year in soccer once you get to high school? Leah: "I think the biggest thing I want to work on is foot work. I want to acquire more moves so that I can do more on the field, and be more useful. I also want to learn how to get a shot off faster. I think that this will give me more scoring opportunities and will overall benefit the team." Reporter Megan: Hope, how did you feel about all the injuries that were happening during the year? Hope: "I felt that it was very hard that there were so many injuries this year. I thought that it was especially hard because we had such a small team."

Photo by: Robin Reidy Continued on Next page...

Reporter Megan: Do you feel it was harder for you since you were one of the injured people? Hope: "It was extremely hard for me to be one of the injured people because I love playing soccer. I hate sitting out on the sidelines and not keeping fit. But I'm so glad now that I'm progressing with my physical therapy. I am ten times better and ready to kick a lot of can now since basketball season has started." Many players worked through the pain but many weren't in pain at all. Madison Szczygiel was one of those many. Maddie is a great defender, stopping every ball and every person who comes to cross her bridge. Every time a ball comes to her, she stops it right away. She reminds of a brick wall because you know that balls not going by her. Not only is she a great defender but she is fast and has a strong kick on offense. She scored her first goal in the first game of the season. I asked Madison questions on how her season went and what she wants to do when high school soccer comes around.

Reporter Megan: How did you feel about playing more defense than the offense? Maddie: "I don't really mind playing more defense than offense although I like to go up now and then." Reporter Megan: If you were able to play offense more would you still have wanted to play some defense? Maddie: "I think that my ideal position would be a midi because I could play both offense and defense." Reporter Megan: What do you want to work on for next year when you go to high school soccer? Maddie: "I definitely want to work on ball control and offense, so I can be strong overall in offense and defense." The girls worked hard and it definitely paid off. I wish all of the girls, and myself, good luck with high school soccer next year. And for any person who plays soccer, Madison has some advice for you. "Go fast, go hard, give it everything you have, then a little bit more." -Madison Szczygiel

Photo by: Robin Reidy

What Does Football Mean to You?

by: Nolan Potter
The clock is winding down on the final seconds of this particularly rainy and muddy game and wells has a narrow 2 point lead over the opposing team. They have one last attempt to score and win the game, but our Wells defense is not prepared to let this happen. The quarterback gets down under center, and snaps the ball. A screen pass is thrown to an open receiver, who bolts down the field. I, reading the play, sprint to meet him and make a diving tackle out of bounds into a muddy puddle. I roll over, soaking wet, to see players and coaches jumping up and down on the sideline. They hadn't gotten the touchdown, we had won! I am helped up by my fellow teammates, who are like brothers to me, and together we run over to the sideline in our soaking wet uniforms and water filled cleats. We don't care though, because we have a wonderful feeling in us that only football can instill. This is a sense of pride and achievement. Never in my past of playing other sports have I seen a sport with so much passion and love behind it. Football is not just any sport in wells, its a sport loved and supported by the whole community! Everyone goes to see the Wells High School play football, cheering them on home and away. This is why football is so special to me. Another reason football is special to me is because of the of the amount of teamwork that this sport demands. It's not like other sports where one person can carry the team, and the others don't have to work that hard. In football, all eleven people have to do their job to the very physical best of their ability or else the play won't work. If a lineman doesn't block his guy, the running back will get tackled in the backfield. If a running back doesn't sell his fake, the sweep to the other side will get stopped for a loss of yardage. Football is special, every single person is doing something every second of the game in order for you to be successful. My next reason that football is special to me is because of the unbreakable bonds it forms between my teammates and I. It has always amazed me how close you get to your teammates after just one season of football. My first year of football, I didn't completely get why rule #1 is that We are family.. After a season of seemingly endless conditioning and the wins and losses we went through together, it came to me what rule number one really means.

Nolan Potter

Photo by: Tasha Potter

Photo by: Robin Reidy

It means that you've got each other's backs on and off the field and that you understand and support each other through not just the football season, but the whole year. After that year, I never questioned rule number one again because I was just as close to my teammates as I was my to own brothers. My final reason that football is so special to me is because of the magic of the sport. I always wondered why and how football does this certain magic to you, making you an overall better person. I find my well being improving as a Football season progresses. I start getting better grades in school as well as having a better mood throughout my day. But the magic doesn't just happen off the field, it's just that its

strongest on the field. It's that feeling you get after you make a great hit at practice and your coach praises you for it. It's that feeling of passion you get when youre sitting on the edge of your bed, in your pads and uniform imagining what you are going to do on each play, reminding yourself that you will do everything in your power to make sure your team wins. And when the final quarter runs out, and your bruised and battered, you get this wonderful feeling inside you that tells you that you played your best and worked your butt off. As you can see, football isn't just any sport to me. Football has a very special place in my heart, and I hope to play it for the rest of my life.

Photo by: Tasha Potter

Lady Raider 7th Grade Soccer: Success!

By Daisy Aromando
"Good Game ladies!" This was a sound that the 7th grade girls heard a lot this soccer season. Sixteen girls from the grade, along with the help of a few sixth graders) made this team end with a winning season. Wells had won six games out of ten. This made the girls very happy. "We have a really good group of girls in the soccer program. This soccer season brought us closer together." said Katie Reidy, a mid-fielder for the team. As well as having games, the girls had practices every day. Participating in soccer was a fun activity for these girls to do, rather than going home and watching T.V. Wells gave a great effort in their games. The Raiders had the help of Hannah Cottis, who plays on the best soccer team in Maine, Phoenix. Hannah scored twenty-six goals this season, which helped Wells offensive side of team. But Wells also had a great defense with girls who would hustle to make sure that the other team didn't get a goal. And those people that were both good on offense and defense played Mid-Field. And you can't forget the goalie! Daisy Aromando and Lauren Bartlett played goalie this season. But Maeve Forbes, Well's other goalie injured herself in the first game and sadly missed the rest of the season. Thankfully, no other players got seriously injured. Wells would have a good crowd of people watching these games. They would cheer for their goals, defensive saves, and good passes. "I love watching these girls grow into soccer players, an most importantly, a team." said Brian Aromando, a father to one of the players. Lets not forget Wells secret mascot. No it wasn't a person dressed up in a costume, nor was it a super loud parent. It was Willis the Pig! He would come to the games and support the team with oinks and squeals. Willis is a 10 week old Gloucester Old Spot. These pigs are usually farm animals, but not Willis. He gets to go for walks, play at the beach, and go to Raider soccer games! "I love having a pig root for us, literally!" said Olivia Talevi. Wells had an exciting soccer season this fall. With six wins, the ladies ended their season with joy. Even though they lost the last game of the season to York, the girls were proud. It was a bummer not to win the last game of the season, and not to beat York, but everyone was happy. Everyone had improved, whether it was in soccer skills, teamwork, or even both! The girls left with an even bigger achievement, a strong love for the game.

Photos by: Robin Reidy

Wells Warrior Football Team Interviews!

Interviews by: Christian Saulnier
An Interview with Nolan Potter.
What do you think you did well? "I thought we executed well, especially in the playoffs. When we entered the playoffs, we seemed to take off as a team. We beat teams that beat us in the regular season. We ran plays well, and everyone knew their job. Ruunning the ball was extremely easy with our blockers doing their part, as everyone else on the team had to do their part. This contributed to the overall team effort." How much more did it mean to you How important did you feel your to play in the Gold Ball game than job was to the team as a starting to watch the gold ball game? full back and middle linebacker? "Even though I did play in the Gold Ball game last year, I only got some happiness out of it. Even though last year coach told us everyone was a part of the win, I didn't receive the full satisfaction of actually playing in the whole game. This year, since I played the whole game, it felt so much better after the final buzzer went off and we all jumped in the air in celebration." "I didn't feel my job was any more important than any other job on the team. Every job was equally important, even if not everyone scored touchdowns or made tackles. At full back, I felt it was important to me to make the successful lead block busting through the hole busting it up making sure the half backs could run safely behind me. At middle linebacker, i felt it was my job to let the defense know what formation they were in, let them know where they were going, and to let them know how to read the play. After the ball was snapped, I would try to read the play to the best of my ability and get in on the tackle."

Photo by: Robin Reidy

More Interviews...
Interviews by: Christian Saulnier
An interview with Christian Saulnier. How important did you feel your role as wide receiver and tight end was to the team? "My role was just as important to the team as everyone else's. Being wide receiver was based more on making correct blocks so that Chad (Fitzpatrick) or Matt (Szczygiel) or Nolan (Potter) could get the yards they deserved. Substituting in for Ethan (Marsh) was always a tough act to follow. I knew I wasn't the best player on the team, but I tried my hardest, you know? My job was to get the running backs where they needed to go, and even if I didn't fully execute my job on one play, Chad, Matt, or Nolan always seemed to be successful. This helped the team in more ways than you could think of. How much more did it mean to you to play in the Gold Ball game than to watch it? "Well, watching the boys take it home last year felt great, I was happy to do everything in practice I could to help the team win. This year ,however, the win at the end of the season felt incredible. With Matt, Chad, and Nolan running the ball hard, Ethan catching the key passes, and Michael (Wrigley) throwing the ball with pin-point accuracy and the linemen making the blocks they needed to, we were an impossible team to beat. And when everyone executed their jobs, we came out on top." Michael did an amazing job handing the ball off to the running backs, and throwing perfect passes to the receivers. Everyone did their job, and we proved to be the best team in the league. I was honored to be a part of it."

What did you feel you did well as a team?

"We were a powerhouse football team. We did everything that needed to be done, Drew (Peters) lead the offensive and defensive line better than any center or nose-tackle out there. Nolan, Chad, and Matt ran the ball harder than they ever had. And

Photo by: Robin Reidy

And a Few More!

Interviews by: Christian Saulnier
An interview with Michael Wrigley. How much more did it mean to you to play in the Gold Ball game than to watch it? "Well, it definitely felt a lot better, because I played more in this game than I did last year. I also felt like I contributed more to the team than I did last year." How important did you feel your What did you feel you did well job was to the team as starting as a team? quarterback and safety? "Well, I felt we did our jobs, we "Well, I think the other players passed well, we ran well, we were just as importance, defended well, and we blocked because in football everybody well. I thought we prepared very has equal importance in football well, and that's the recipe to on the field. Not one person can success." carry the team by themselves, and I felt everyone did their job amazingly in the gold ball game."

Photo by: Robin Reidy An interview with Drew Peters How did you feel your performance impacted the gold ball game? "It wasn't just me; the team worked all together to win". How much more did it mean to you to play in the Gold ball game than to watch it? "Watching the year before was great, but being on the field this year made me feel like a champ". What do you think you did well in the Gold ball game? "I think I did a great job of protecting Michael and enabling the rest of the team to move forward".

Poetry
by: Rosemary Campenella and Taylor McDermott
There Was a Time By: Rosemary Campenella There was a time, The Earth was free, Of toxic waste, And full of trees. There was a time. We did not cleanse, Or ever heard, Of pals and friends. There was a time, The Earth was pure, With nothing sick, Or insecure. There was a time, The fog stayed clear, When birds could fly, Without a fear. There was a time, The Earth was clean, Full do crisp air, And lots of green. There was a time, We did not need, To kill for fun, Off or our greed. There was a time, The Earth was full, Of animals; Not plain or dull. There was a time, We did not live, We did not share, We did not give. There was a time, The Earth was free, Of killing tribes, Who killed for glee.

A friend By: Taylor McDermott Yourre the gold of the sunshine And the moons light at nighttime You can light up the worlds darkest room Or cheer up a crowd that's full of gloom You're the new growth of spring The cool water of summer The crisp breeze of autumn And the fresh new blanket of snow in the winter. Photo by: Christian Saulnier

Autumn By: Taylor McDermott The leaves are running Like children in the wind The cool autumn breezes Are like the colors on the trees The stars in the night Are like the northern lights Breath and take it all in Before its gone Like a shooting star This is autumn.

HALLOWEEN SURVEY
Are you trick or treating this year!? We asked students from grades five and grade eight questions revolving around Halloween. The questions were: Are you trick or treating? What age are you going to stop or what age did you stop? And last but not least... What are you going to be for Halloween? We asked two people from each class we went to. For eight graders we Interviewed Kylie Belanger, Tim Bullard, Mitch Libby, Acadia Snow-Brine, Brendan Dean, Kala Cummings, Madison and Matthew Szczygiel, John Harris, Katrin Spainhouer, and Lukas Hall. For fifth graders we asked Evan, Rhiannon, Cynthia, Jacob, Natalie, and Craig.

People going Trick or Treating

yes no

6%

94%

Ages people are going to stop Trick or Treating

4 3

People

2 1 0

16

19

92

12

15

13

31

50 Not sure

Ages